Child poverty has been on the rise in Germany since 1996. According to a study by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, one in six children in Germany is threatened by poverty. The ministry bases its calculations on the number of people living on less than 60 percent of the population’s average per-capita income. In 2007, 2.4 million children lived in German households that met this criterion; most of these children came from single-parent families. Projects such as “The Ark” [Die Arche] in the Hellersdorf district of Berlin aim to mitigate the effects of poverty on children and young people by offering meals, homework assistance, and recreational activities. Led by Pastor Bernd Siggelkow, “The Ark” is funded exclusively from donations.